Kiss From A Rose
by Her Owlness
Summary: AU Futurefic Kay/Reese: What if Reese left Harmony after high school? What would happen if Kay ran into a very different Reese from the one she thought she knew in high school? Rated M for language and adult content.
1. Part 1

**Part One**

"There are two tragedies in life.  
One is not to get your heart's desire.  
The other is to get it."  
—George Bernard Shaw

_117 Norris Court  
Madison, Wisconsin  
December 25, 2012; 8:19 p.m.  
_"Ho, ho, ho," he muttered to himself as he walked through his front door. His beautifully decorated Christmas tree shone brightly through darkness that filled his home. He quickly switched on the overhead light, trying to forget what a merry Christmas it hadn't been.

He'd spent the whole day working, just as he had the day before. He'd needed to keep himself busy, to stop wishing that Jonathan and Amelia weren't completely negligent in their parenting duties.

It was odd, he knew, calling his parents by their first names, but that was how he'd always thought of them. He had been raised by a nanny, while they flitted from country to country and state to state taking care of the child they *truly* loved – his father's computer company.

They never said it, but he knew that they had never wanted any children or planned on having any children. But here he was all the same. Spending Christmas just as he had the past eight years.

Alone.

He pushed those thoughts from his mind, glad that his job had kept him from spending all day obsessing over the fact that his parents didn't love him, over the fact that they barely noticed he existed.

Who cared if he had spent Christmas alone and at work? He'd helped a number of sick people feel better. And, besides, by taking Angie's hours, she'd been able to spend the holiday with her family.

Damn, he was tired of all of the endless self-pity. Not to worry though – a case of beer and his favorite movies should be enough to make him forget.

_11:24 p.m._  
Four beers and two Star Wars movies later, he was finally asleep.

Well, in and out of sleep, to be precise. While the alcohol had helped him forget why he was so upset, they also ensured that he would get a restless night's sleep. But sleep was sleep, regardless of how restful it was. A sudden shift in the bed roused him from his latest trip into dreamland.

But, then again, as he opened his eyes to determine the cause of the movement, perhaps he was still dreaming.

Beside him lay the woman of his dreams.

"K – Kay?" he whispered in wonderment, reaching a hand out to caress her cheek.

As she leaned into his touch, a look of pure contentment flitted across her features. It was official. He was still dreaming.

Besides the fact that he hadn't heard from Kay since they'd both left Harmony and headed off to different universities, not once in all the years that they had dated had she looked at him like she was at that very moment. Despite her lust-filled gaze and seductive smile, he couldn't believe that she wanted him.

"Merry Christmas," she whispered silkily as she leaned down to cover his mouth with her own.

They kissed for a moment, but he pulled away before he completely lost his grip on reality. He had to know the reason behind Kay's sudden appearance.

"What are you doing here? How did you get in here? I mean, I – "

She laughed lightly as she placed a finger over his lips to quiet him. "Don't talk," she instructed. "Tonight is about feeling, about loving. I want you to take me, Reese. Make me yours."

He hesitated for a moment, unable to believe what he was hearing. This was the woman who had always put up a brave front when it came to the topic of making love. He vividly remembered when she had climbed into his sleeping bag at the Harmony ruins and told him that she had brought protection so that they could be together. He'd reacted by moving his body on top of hers and kissing her senseless. She'd ended up running off, scared by the fast pace that he'd taken.

He vowed to himself that the same thing would not happen tonight.

For some reason, he had been granted a second chance. He now had the opportunity to show Kay how she deserved to be loved, and he sure as hell wasn't going to move too quickly this time. No, he would take his time and worship her body the way he'd always dreamed.

Before he started in on his exploration, he looked into her eyes to be certain that this was what she really wanted. Instead of the heated gaze he'd met earlier, he saw hurt and shame.

"Never mind," she mumbled softly, quickly removing herself from his embrace and his bed. "I shouldn't have come here. This was a mistake."

He watched wordlessly as she awkwardly slipped into her shoes before heading for his now open window. So *that* had been how she'd gotten in.

"Kay, wait."

She turned at the sound of his voice, and he could see her tears glistening in the moonlight.

"What now, Reese?" she asked between sobs. "You clearly don't want anything to do with me. Why should I hang around and let you get your kicks rejecting the girl you wanted all through high school?"

"Kay, please trust me," he asked, as he beckoned with his hand for her to come closer.

She took exactly one step forward.

"Look, we've established the fact that you don't want me anymore. What else is there to say?"

"Personally," he began as he slowly stood and approached her, "I feel that words are highly overrated. Besides, what was it you said? Don't talk; just feel."

With that, he covered her mouth with his own, his actions saying the words that he wouldn't let pass his lips.

His fingers found the buttons on her blue linen blouse just as hers found the hem of his gray athletic shirt. They laughed together as their arms tangled between them. Soon, Kay was standing beside his bed clothed in only her rosy-hued bikinis and matching brassiere.

Taking only a quick moment to appreciate the stunning body before him, Reese quickly scooped her up in his arms and laid her gently on his bed. Kay's fingers reached for the clasp of her bra, preparing to remove it, but the man hovering above her shook his head slightly. He wanted to have the pleasure of revealing the most intimate parts of her body. This was, after all, a moment he had dreamt of for a number of years.

His fingers went to her waist, tracing her sides lightly as they made their way to her back. He felt for the clasp and smiled gently as he unhooked the item that had hidden her breasts. As the delicately embroidered brassiere fell away from her body, a slow smile spread across his face.

Beautiful. Gorgeous. Sexy. Amazing.

It mattered not what words his mind might come up with. Reese knew they would never be able to fully encompass every thought, every desire, every emotion that coursed through him at the sight of Kay's wonderfully naked body.

Well, he amended mentally as he took note of the soft cotton panties she still wore, Kay's wonderfully *almost*-naked body.

Soon after, he began to place soft kisses on her silky skin, causing her to let out a soft whimper. He couldn't help but wonder why Kay had come to him, to his bed, on this night of all nights, but he planned to do everything in his power to be sure that she never regretted it.

After he allowed his mouth to worship both of her luscious peaks, he began to lay gentle kisses in the valley between her breasts. Slowly, he moved his lips down her body, following the curve of her bottom rib and tasting the skin of her well-toned stomach until he saw the pale fabric of her delicate panties. After carefully removing them from her body, his hands moved upwards between her slender legs.

One word stilled his movement.

"Reese."

His head jerked up to look at the porcelain skin of the one he loved.

"Love me," she demanded. "Now."

"I do," he whispered, more to himself than to her.

"I will," he promised, for her benefit, moving his body until he was positioned directly over her. Slowly he entered her, reveling in the moment he had dreamed of all his life. Finally, he was making love to the woman of his dreams. Finally, he would wake in the arms of the one he loved. Finally, they would be one.

She quickly wrapped her legs around his lean waist, matching him thrust for thrust. At first, their movements were soft and languid, as they enjoyed the first sensations of their union.

It wasn't too long before their smooth rhythm had turned hard and fast, as Reese felt his release grow near. But he refused to surrender to it. Not yet. Not until Kay had found hers.

At that moment, he felt her walls tighten around him, letting out an unintelligible cry as she fell back upon the bed sheets. Shortly thereafter, he found his own release, and lay down beside her. They stayed like that for a number of minutes, neither wanting to move and disturb the heady sensations that were coursing through their bodies.

Much later, he rolled slowly onto his side and pulled her pliant body into his warm embrace. He took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh wildflower scent of her soft, brunette mane.

"Thank you for loving me," she whispered softly.

"Thanks for letting me."

_December 26, 2012; 8:19 a.m.  
_As the morning sun shone through his windows, Reese slowly roused into consciousness. His arms instinctively moved around, searching for the body he had explored so thoroughly the night before. Finding only cool sheets around him, he was forced to open his eyes.

"Kay?" he called out, as he scanned the room and listened carefully for any footfalls coming from within his home.

Nothing.

Was it possible that it had all been nothing more than a dream? The whole experience – Kay coming to him, Kay coming *on* to him, Kay loving him ... Could his subconscious possibly be so cruel?

Frustrated, both emotionally and sexually, Reese flipped over onto his belly and buried his head into his fluffy pillow.

His pillow that smelled of wildflowers.

His gaze quickly flew towards the window, finding it wide open, allowing the cool winter air into his room.

A jubilant smile instantly spread across his face. She *had* been here. She *had* allowed him to love her. The previous night *had not* been merely a dream, a cruel joke played upon him by his subconscious.

A sobering thought crossed his mind. But she'd also left him during the night. Without a note, without saying goodbye, without any hope that he might see her again – in bed, or otherwise.

She couldn't regret it. How could something so beautiful, so wonderful have been a mistake?

But what if she did?

Reese let out a long sigh. No matter what she felt, the fact was that he still had last night. He still had that fantastic, earth-shattering night.

And nothing would change that.

Nothing at all.

**TBC**

_This is a piece that I wrote years ago and just never posted to . (Whoops!) It's complete, and I'll be posting up the remaining 3 parts over the coming days/weeks. (Reviews are a good way to get the next part sooner versus later ... ^_^) This piece is still one of my favorites that I've written, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.  
_

_Thanks for reading. As always, reviews are love. :)  
_


	2. Part 2

**Part Two**

"Of the thirty-six ways of avoiding disaster, running away is the best."  
—Anonymous

_Somewhere on University Avenue  
Madison, Wisconsin  
December 26, 2010; 6:42 a.m._

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" Kay swore repeatedly as she drove down the open road. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Her gaze momentarily shifted from the empty road before her to her slender fingers that gripped the steering wheel. There wasn't anything remarkable about her fair-skinned hands. However, the ostentatious ring that typically adorned her fourth finger was sitting on her dresser back home.

When James had insisted on her wearing that particular ring as her wedding band, she was shocked. The platinum gold band was embedded with a large diamond, which was surrounded by a heart-shaped ruby on both sides. It was a very expensive ring, and she was touched that James felt that she was worth all of the money that it had cost him.

But, really, she wasn't all that fond of it. It was too big, too flashy, and too showy. She would have preferred a simply gold band with a small and simple diamond embedded in it. Still, she had let James buy the larger, more expensive ring. More importantly, she had mistaken his willingness to shower her with expensive gifts for love. More importantly, she had married him, believing in his deep love for her. However, she had broken her marriage vows the previous night, during the unbelievable moments of passion that she'd shared with Reese.

Oh, Reese, her heart cried out. She'd wanted to stay with him this morning. When she'd awoken in his warm and comforting embrace, she'd felt that she was finally where she belonged.

But it wasn't where she belonged. She belonged with her husband, not with the only man who had ever and would ever love her.

Reese would be so hurt if he ever discovered that she was married. She knew that he would be beyond shocked to learn that he had slept with a married woman. He would feel betrayed and feel as if he had betrayed his fellow man in some way. He would hate her for causing him to unknowingly have an affair with a married woman.

She had changed so much over the past few years, in ways that Reese would never predict. However, the one thing that remained the same was that she was still Kay Bennett. James had hated his last name – for obvious reasons. He was originally James Pirocanac, but he had insisted on taking her name. Another sign that she had taken to believe that he was truly in love with her, that he was really in love with her family, and not with her. Another sign that she hadn't wanted to see and had refused to acknowledge or accept.

After Miguel married Charity, she had finally realized that her pursuit of her best friend was causing everyone pain and heartache, and that if he didn't love her, she would have to find a man who would.

Of course, by this time, Reese had already left for college. They'd broken up before they left, and she hadn't bothered to pay attention to where he was going to school or even what he was studying.

Was he happy now? Was he happier without her around to screw up his life?

She would never know; she could never let herself find out. She would have to stay away from him and try her best to pretend that the previous night had never happened – no matter how hard that might be.

_18 Violet Place  
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin  
December 26, 2012; 7:06 a.m._

She hated her mother.

Well, perhaps that was a bit strong. She just really *really* disliked her mother.

A lot.

But she still kept trying to win her mother's attention, her mother's approval, her mother's love.

Of course, she had almost no success.

She supposed that her marriage to James was an attempt to get her mother to love her the way that she loved Charity, or the way that she loved Jessica. After all, her mother was the first to throw all of her support behind his involvement with her eldest daughter.

But then again, James was probably one of the only people in the world who could honestly tell her mother that he loved her tomato soup cakes. And the fact that he always requested that she make one for him for all the important occasions only made Grace Bennett love him more.

And it made her loathe her husband and his inactive taste buds for forcing her to swallow at least one piece of the dreadful dessert at each birthday, anniversary, and major holiday.

Upon her arrival back home, she'd seen a package from Harmony sitting on the front porch.

His tomato soup cake.

It was that sight that had started her most recent tirade against her mother, her husband, and her fucked up life.

The flashing of her answering machine brought her out of her cycle of self-loathing for a moment. Quickly, she pressed the button, wondering who might have called while she was out the previous night.

"Hey, honey. Just wanted to call and let you know that I'll be getting home at ten-twenty tomorrow night. I really wish we could have spent the holidays together, but I know that you understand that I just couldn't cut this trip short. I'll see you soon, sweetheart. Hope you had a merry Christmas."

Kay quickly reached out to hit the delete button, never wanting to hear the saccharine sweet words that her husband had recorded ever again. She knew that he didn't care about missing out on spending time with her. His actions of the past had proved as much.

Two months ago, he had been out of town on a business trip. He was always away on business trips – not that she minded. Anyhow, her father was planning a surprise birthday party for her mother, and he hadn't thought he'd be able to make it. He was, of course, devastated, but had managed to find a way to come to Harmony for a day before he'd had to fly back to Sicily.

He hadn't even tried to come home for one day for her. Ever.

And that hurt.

That was what had sent her running to Reese the night before. That was what had caused her to climb into his bed and make wild, passionate love to him all night long.

Well, she thought as she dropped onto the couch, that and the fact that it was nice to be loved again, to be treasured again.

James dropped that act barely a week after they were married. Sure, he worked at keeping up the charade that they were happily married, but he didn't seem to care as much about giving her what she wanted or what she needed. After all, he'd gotten what he'd wanted – an 'in' with a normal family, *her* normal family. Why bother about her wants and desires?

She had to admit that she didn't really miss the sex in their relationship. That, after all, had never really been James's forte. But she missed the sweet words, the things that he used to do for her to make her feel like she was the most wonderful woman in the world.

The things that Reese had done for her the night before.

When she had seen him walking out of Starbucks the week before, she'd thought that she was imagining things. After all, what were the chances that Reese Durkee – *her* Reese Durkee – would end up in the same city as her, after all these years?

So she'd followed him from a distance, waiting to find out that her eyes were just showing her what she wanted to see.

But that wasn't what happened. Instead she had seen this man helping a young boy pick some things that he'd dropped on the sidewalk, and she'd seen him open a car door for a woman who'd had her hands full. He was the same, helpful, wonderful Reese Durkee that he'd always been. And she knew it for a fact when she saw him walk into a house with the name "Durkee" written on the mailbox.

When she'd gone to his home the previous night, she had no intentions of sleeping with him – let alone of talking to him. But when she peeked in the window and saw him rolling restlessly beneath his covers, she hadn't been able to stop herself from climbing through the window to get closer to him, to touch him.

Admittedly, things had gotten a little out of hand. She had never planned to take things as far as they'd gone.

But she didn't regret it.

Not at all. Not one moment of the time that she'd spent in his bed.

That didn't mean that it could happen again. In fact, it could never happen again.

She knew that. She believed that.

But she still wondered what would happen if she went to see him again.

Would he take her in his arms again? Would he kiss her deeply again?

Would he tell her that he loved her again?

She reached for the phone, wanting to call him and tell him how sorry she was for leaving him that morning. She wanted to explain everything, tell him everything.

But what if he told her to get lost? What if he said that he wasn't going to be her fuck buddy on the side? What if he told her that he didn't love her, that he couldn't love her? That no one could love her?

Would his words break her heart? Or would they heal the wounds that had been inflicted on it during the course of her lifetime?

It didn't matter. It *couldn't* matter, she decided as she pulled her hand away from the phone. She wouldn't let it matter.

No, she wouldn't go near his bed again. She wouldn't go near his home again. She wouldn't go near *him* again.

At least, not if she could help it.

**TBC**

****_Part Three to come next week! If you enjoyed reading this, I'd love to hear from you.  
_

_Thanks again for reading!  
_


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